When it rains, they store

EARTH DAY

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, April 18, 2009

Two ong jars are used to collect rainwater for irrigating the landscape at the Comfort home of Dinah Zike and Ignacio Salas-Humara.

Two ong jars are used to collect rainwater for irrigating the landscape at the Comfort home of Dinah Zike and Ignacio Salas-Humara.

Photo: Ignacio Salas-Humara

When it rains, they store

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As a gardener, Dinah Zike appreciates beauty and practicality. So when she laid eyes on 4-foot-high urns designed to collect rainwater, she bought two to put in the garden at her century-old home in Comfort.

In collecting rainwater, she and her husband, architect Ignacio Salas-Humara, are following in the practical footsteps of the pioneers who built their house in 1886. Two original cisterns, one clad in cypress and another of corrugated galvanized metal, still stand among the outbuildings behind the house.

The rustic sculptural beauty of the concrete ong jars, stained to achieve a rusty patina, complements the limestone structures.

“Those appealed to me because of how exotic they are, and they are handmade,” said Zike. Unlike most rain barrels that are strictly utilitarian, these beg to be displayed.

The vessels, which hold 425 gallons of water each, are ubiquitous outside houses in Thailand, said John Hanesworth, who imports the jars to sell at Big Grass Bamboo (www.BigGrassBamboo.com) at 637 W. Hildebrand Ave. The large urns cost $1,395 to $1,595. Smaller ones, which hold 225 gallons, retail for $825 to $950.

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They are fitted with a hose bib and a galvanized metal lid that will accommodate a downspout.

One inch of rain collected from 1,000 square feet of roof will yield about 600 gallons of water, so it doesn’t take a flood to fill the jars. Some homeowners also capture water from air conditioner condensate drains for landscape use.

For gardeners without the budget or space to accommodate large vessels, simpler rain barrels are available. Utilitarian versions are available at garden and home stores, with prices starting at about $90 and capacity ranging from 40 gallons and more.

Styles run the gamut from black or green plastic to a terra cotta look to one that mimics a boulder.

Angela Chandler, a Houston-area garden educator, leads classes on making rain barrels from trash cans. The homemade barrels and most commercially available rainwater receptacles can be connected to handle more water. All rain barrels need to have tight-fitting lids to protect children, pets and birds, noted Chandler. Screens over the openings generally prevent mosquitoes, but if larvae are present, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the water to suffocate them.

Sensible option

Whether you show them or stow them, rain barrels make sense.

In summer, about 50-to-75 percent of residential water use is for irrigating landscapes, said Carol Brouwer, extension agent for horticulture in Harris County. In drought-stricken areas the need is obvious, but recycling rainwater is beneficial in wetter climates, too.

Though Houston rainfall averages the ideal inch per week, Chandler said, the showers don’t always fall when needed. “We go through long periods when there is not sufficient rainfall,” she said. “It’s good to collect enough water during the deluges so we have that water available during drought periods.”

Saving rainwater will save homeowners money, reduce the demand on treated water and save a precious natural resource.

“We think Texas, in general, isn’t going to have enough water to meet the needs of the population in the next 30 to 50 years,” Brouwer said. “Why pump water out of the ground when you’ve got it free to use?”